Illinois’ 5 GOP House members want Congress to block Pritzker from withholding federal aid to municipalities that disobey his stay-at-home order

A jogger crosses the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on April 22, 2020, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

The five Republicans in Illinois’ U.S. House delegation said Friday they want Congress to block Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other state chief executives from being able to withhold federal coronavirus relief aid from municipalities that disobey stay-at-home orders.

In a politically calculated counter to Pritzker, the five said Congress should consider prohibiting federal state aid to Illinois for “raising income taxes on small businesses” if it adopts a graduated-rate income tax to replace the state’s constitutionally mandated flat-rate income tax.

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Pritzker, at his daily news briefing Friday, said he believed the five had “the best interests of their constituents at heart” but were “missing the point” of his orders.

“They understand, I’m sure, that the laws of the state need to be followed, that the executive orders of the state need to be followed and that we’ll pursue enforcement actions wherever necessary,” he said

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In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and the two minority leaders, the five called Pritzker’s threat to use the withholding of federal funding to enforce his executive orders “unconscionable.”

“We write to you with deep concern over the recent threats issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to possibly withhold federal aid provided through the state of Illinois from any local government that reopens its economy in accordance with federal health guidelines but ahead of Gov. Pritzker’s own arbitrary timetable,” the five congressmen wrote.

“On top of Gov. Pritzker’s ongoing campaign to persuade Illinois voters to raise the state income tax on small businesses in November, the governor’s latest threat to withhold federal assistance from communities in need is unconscionable,” they wrote.

The letter was signed by Republican U.S. Reps. John Shimkus of Collinsville, Darin LaHood of Peoria, Rodney Davis of Taylorville, Mike Bost of Murphysboro and Adam Kinzinger of Channahon. The five represent largely rural areas that have chafed under Pritzker’s stay-at-home orders, the closure of businesses deemed nonessential and his phased plan to reopen the state’s economy.

Pritzker earlier this week said withholding federal relief aid to municipalities that do not enforce his orders was being considered.

“I would just suggest there are a number of enforcement mechanisms that are available to us and I don’t want to utilize those. I’ve asked people to do the right thing. And I want to point out the vast majority of people in Illinois have been doing the right thing,” he said Tuesday.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf issued a similar warning to counties in his state that disregarded his orders keeping nonessential businesses closed.

The letter to congressional leadership restates the GOP’s long-standing complaints over efforts to amend the Illinois Constitution to impose a graduated-rate income tax. Voters will decide the proposed amendment in the Nov. 3 general election.

“While Congress should consider prohibiting Illinois from raising income taxes on small business as a condition of state aid, we urge you to act immediately to ensure no governor can withhold federal funds appropriated by Congress for local municipalities that allow their small businesses to reopen in accordance with federal health guidelines,” the letter said.

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Since Democrats control the U.S. House, the Republicans’ request that Illinois be blocked from receiving federal relief funds if it changes its income tax system is highly unlikely. Additionally, such a move could raise significant constitutional questions.

The letter also takes another swipe at Democratic state Senate President Don Harmon’s previous request of Illinois’ entire 18-member U.S. House delegation and two U.S. senators that they consider a federal relief package of $41 billion to the state, including $10 billion to help stabilize the massively underfunded public employee pension system.

“Now more than ever, it’s critical that resources allocated by Congress and the White House be delivered to everyday Illinoisans, small businesses and health care workers,” the five wrote.

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“Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly, however, recently requested that the federal government provide billions of dollars in federal funding to bailout our state’s pre-COVID-19 financial struggles. Illinois’ financial issues weren’t caused by COVID-19 and federal taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for Illinois’ mismanagement,” it said.